General Information

May 05, 2020

Arrival at the Western Wall in light of the new guidelines

Returning to the Western Wall

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation announces that, due to the government’s decision to cancel the restriction of prayer only at a distance of up to 500 meters from one’s place of residence while maintaining the restriction of up to 19 people during prayer in an open area, the worshipers that have so yearned to visit the sacred stones and pray in front of them, can return to the Western Wall while keeping to the Health Ministry restrictions.

The Western Wall prayer plazas will be divided into as many prayer areas as possible in the given area and in accordance with the regulations.

For the next few days, up to 300 worshippers will be allowed to come to the Western Wall plaza simultaneously, contingent on them wearing masks. Should the prayer areas all get full, worshippers will be requested to wait outside the entrances to the Western Wall, with the required distances between them, until space becomes available.

Likewise, bar/bat mitzvah families can return to celebrate at the Western Wall in accordance with regulations. Families will have to coordinate their arrival in advance through the Western Wall website or hotline (*5958) to ensure that the prayer area will be available at the time of their arrival.

The sites of Western Wall Tunnels remain closed until further notice.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, congratulated the government on its decision.